Under The Hood

Me and my driver. x LV

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:27:07 -0400

Me and my driver. x LV

Tesla talking to Google about driverless electric cars

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:24:42 -0400

Tesla talking to Google about driverless electric cars:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says an ‘autopilot’ is the next logical step in cars

Driverless?!? That’s outrageous! I need my driver, we’re a team. : ) xLV

Electric Cars Are Beginning To Catch On

Mon, 06 May 2013 17:30:00 -0400

Electric Cars Are Beginning To Catch On:

The numbers are tiny, and it remains very much a niche market, but April’s sales figures suggest electric cars are beginning to catch on … The market for electric cars may still be small—far less than 1 percent of the total sold. But with each passing week, about 1,000 more cars that will never need to stop at a gas station hit the roads.

The view from here: A look at my dashboard. If I can do it,...

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:10:36 -0400

The view from here: A look at my dashboard. If I can do it, you can too. Get out and do something - anything - to help save Mother Earth. x LV

It’s National Parks Week, Blog. We’ve got to save...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:25:36 -0400

It’s National Parks Week, Blog. We’ve got to save Mother Earth. x LV

President Obama: “We have to keep investing in the technology and manufacturing that helps us lead the world, but we’ve also got to protect the places that help define who we are, that help shape our character and our soul as a nation. Places that help attract visitors and create jobs, but that also give something to our kids that is irreplaceable.”

Neil Young Fills Up LincVolt, Back From The Dead, With...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:14:03 -0400

Neil Young Fills Up LincVolt, Back From The Dead, With Cellulosic Ethanol

NYC unveils first electric taxi cabs

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:36:10 -0400

NYC unveils first electric taxi cabs:

New York City has rolled out the first all electric taxi cabs, part of a plan to make one-third of its taxi fleet electric by the year 2020. (April 22)

"I would like to write a poem about the world that has in it nothing fancy. But it seems..."

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:45:53 -0400

“I would like to write a poem about the world that has in it
nothing fancy.
But it seems impossible.
Whatever the subject, the morning sun
glimmers it.
The tulip feels the heat and flaps its petals open and becomes a star.
The ants bore into the peony bud and there is a dark
pinprick well of sweetness.
As for the stones on the beach, forget it.
Each one could be set in gold.
So I tried with my eyes shut, but of course the birds
were singing.
And the aspen trees were shaking the sweetest music
out of their leaves.
And that was followed by, guess what, a momentous and
beautiful silence
as comes to all of us, in little earfuls, if we’re not too
hurried to hear it.
As for spiders, how the dew hangs in their webs
even if they say nothing, or seem to say nothing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe they sing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe the stars sing too,
and the ants, and the peonies, and the warm stones,
so happy to be where they are, on the beach, instead of being
locked up in gold.”

- “This World,” another poem by one of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver. Mary Oliver loves the world like I do. We’ve got to save Mother Earth. x LV

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:44:42 -0400

“Because there is such an abundance of information and...

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:22:09 -0400

“Because there is such an abundance of information and misinformation around the use of ethanol as a fuel, and because I have a strong belief in the value of science and the true scientific process, I have done extensive research into the uses of ethanol, the carbon costs of this use, and the benefits involved with utilizing ethanol bio fuel for transportation as opposed to fossil fuels, as well as the effects of CO2 on the planet’s climate. The average E85 ethanol pumped at a US gasoline station has a reduction of 19% in GHG emissions compared to gasoline. Cellulosic ethanol has a GHG reduction of 86%, as compared to gasoline.

Of course, everyone has the right to an opinion, and my opinions, based on real science and scientific research, are always open to attack or misinterpretation. With this in mind, I visited a church in Iowa looking for a sign. I wanted a sign to tell me if I was doing the right thing by campaigning for cleaner fuels and more responsibility with regard to fossil fuel abuse and carbon waste. I drove my car to a little church on a hilltop in the middle of a cornfield. I parked right in front and walked up the steps and sidewalk to the white wooden church, with its impeccably manicured grounds, no litter, completely clean and well cared for. I opened the door, took off my hat and walked in. The church was empty and silent. I looked at the neat rows of pews, immaculate in their order and cleanliness, and imagined the congregation, small as it must be, gathering for worship on a Sunday. In my mind I asked for guidance, something I am not in the habit of doing.
After a few silent and peaceful moments, I turned towards the door, signed the guestbook, Neil Young, California. Then I made a contribution in a small wooden box. As I opened the door and exited the church I put my hat back on and walked along down the perfectly trimmed sidewalk back to the steps I had initially climbed. Looking down at my feet I saw something out of place. A small piece of corn stover, a cob with no kernels left, was there on the step. I felt a rush of something I had not experienced before as I stooped down to pick it up. It was light in my hand and looked exactly like the corn stover I had seen the day before in a laboratory at POET Ethanol where I had gone to learn how Cellulosic ethanol was made. I had learned how this stover was carefully collected, used and managed so enough was left in the field to replenish the soil. I am not a very religious man in the normal sense, but to me this was a sign I felt in my soul, a spiritual feeling that I was doing the right thing. I give thanks to the Great Spirit.” ~ My driver and bff Neil Young.

This was a great moment for us. I could have told him he was doing the right thing (and have), but sometimes we all need a sign. xLV

Me and a good friend of mine taking a break from the road and...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:16:51 -0400

Me and a good friend of mine taking a break from the road and having a chat. x LV

"Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a..."

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:19:45 -0400

“Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for -
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?”

- “Mindful,” a poem by Mary Oliver. The daily presentations. We’ve got to save Mother Earth, x LV
p.s. It’s National Poetry Month

On the road and lovin’ it … x LV

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:56:59 -0400

On the road and lovin’ it … x LV

"Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road."

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:11:49 -0400

“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”

- Jack Kerouac, in On The Road.

Actually, Blog, there’s a lot behind me, namely 3 tons! And a lot of history. Every car has a story, you know, and mine goes all the way back to 1959. x LV

Photo

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 12:22:30 -0400

"Every night when Lincvolt plugs into the grid energy we already have generated and I go to sleep,..."

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 12:22:14 -0400

“Every night when Lincvolt plugs into the grid energy we already have generated and I go to sleep, that means we did not have to generate more. Not doing that is a waste of precious energy. Every night, the grid keeps running and is in low use. It’s just too big to turn off. That’s when we waste big energy. I like to use that energy for the Lincvolt Carbonet. Lincvolt is my girl. I call her “Miss Pegi”. We’ve been getting ready to travel for a long time. Now we are.”

- My driver and BFF N.

I’ll be driving around on Earth Day, showing the world...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 17:59:35 -0400

I’ll be driving around on Earth Day, showing the world what I can do. But when I get home I’ll be watching this. You should too. Do the math. x LV

Neil Young Shows Off Self-Made ‘LincVolt’ at Poet...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 11:40:49 -0400

Neil Young Shows Off Self-Made ‘LincVolt’ at Poet Laboratory

I love it when he shows me off. x LV

"The planet needs a publicist then it would be a big star and everyone would pay attention to it."

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 07:37:00 -0400

“The planet needs a publicist then it would be a big star and everyone would pay attention to it.”

- Neil Young.

Truer words were never spoken. Go Mother Earth. Go N. x LV

Video of Me and My Driver and BFF in South Dakota!

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 07:36:00 -0400

Video of Me and My Driver and BFF in South Dakota!:

I like the part where N. says “she likes it” when he’s giving me a drink. Like it? I love it! Poet Ethanol made from biomass: The fuel of the future. Glug glug glug. x LV